


circumstances

by ilet (orphan_account)



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:53:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21702517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ilet
Summary: Winta knows Mandalorian armor when she sees it.
Relationships: Boba Fett/Leia Organa, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV/Omera (Star Wars)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 420





	circumstances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mintaegu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintaegu/gifts).



> Thank you [@moonxtide](https://moonxtide.tumblr.com/), [@omeraas](https://omeraas.tumblr.com/), and [@maiathepleiades](https://maiathepleiades.tumblr.com/) for your kind words, support, and enthusiasm. This fic wouldn't have been possible without you guys. All my love to you ♡

Winta hunches her shoulders, pressing her face closer to the child in her arms. He squirms; she holds him tighter. "I think we're lost," she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut. He gurgles, pulling on her hair, but she shakes her head. "I hate it here," she says, trying her hardest not to cry. "I want to go back." But the problem is, she doesn't know where she is, and so she doesn't know how to find her way back to the _Razor Crest_.

Her mother and Mando always told her to go to the ship if something happened, but now she can’t remember if they ever told her what to do if something like _this_ happened.

The child babbles in her ear and tugs on her hair, insistent. She reluctantly lifts her head. Standing on her tiptoes, she scans the crowd. The panic is kicking back in, digging its heels in and crawling up the back of her throat.

Then she sees it, and her fear vanishes: a glint of green. A flash of yellow. And, in a gap between passing crowds, a familiarly shaped helmet. The baby babbles excitedly, straining in the direction of the figure growing smaller in the distance, and she complies.

Winta knows Mandalorian armor when she sees it.

“Okay,” she whispers, and the child coos gleefully. “Let’s go.”

Boba waits for Leia outside the Senate Building. He keeps his weapon down, set to stun, and tilts his head up towards the top of the steps.

In minutes, Leia appears, regal as ever, on the arm of another senator, Mon Mothma. He watches the two exchange their farewells before the other senator turns and goes back inside. Leia drops her arm, turns her back to the building, and their eyes meet. A grin spreads across her face, and she picks up her skirts before beginning her hurried descent down the steps. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to this.

Then he feels a tug on his glove. He whirls, ready to raise his blaster, and finds himself looking down at a child. The girl jumps back, startled by his immediate response, and brings the bundle in her arms close to her face, as if to shield herself from his hard expression from behind the helmet.

Boba and the child stare at each other for a long, tense moment until Leia comes up beside him. She shoots him an irritated look before gracefully stepping in front of him to block the child’s view. He leans to the side to keep an eye on the girl. Slowly, Leia kneels so she is eyelevel with the child. “Are you okay?” she asks gently, her voice low and soothing.

The girl seems to consult the bundle in her arms before answering: she slowly shakes her head, her gaze flickering between Leia and Boba. “I don’t know where I am,” she says finally in a small voice.

“You’re at the Senate Building,” Leia says easily, drawing the child’s gaze. “You’re safe.” A pause. “Where are your parents?”

Winta grimaces, and hides her face again. This time, the bundle moves, and a pointy green ear pokes out of the cloth folds. The soft but very distinct sound of cooing reaches his ears. Boba stiffens. _A baby_. “I don’t know,” the girl says, sounding close to tears. “I just wanted to see, and…” She squeezes her eyes shut.

“You’re all right, now” Leia assures her. “I’m going to help you.” Boba can’t see her face, but he knows she’s smiling at the girl and the baby. “Will you let me help you?”

The girl looks between Leia and Boba again. Her dark eyes flit back and forth until the child babbles, tugging on her dark hair. The girl slowly nods. “Okay,” she says. Leia stands and outstretches her hand. The girl reaches out, takes it, and allows Leia to lead her to the bottom of the steps leading up to the Senate Building where they both sit down. Boba shifts so he’s standing off to the side, keeping Leia and the children as well as the rest of the platform in his peripheral vision.

“What’s your name? I’m Leia.”

The girl gently presses a kiss to the baby’s forehead before answering. “Winta.”

“Winta,” Leia repeats warmly, folding her hands in her lap, “it’s nice to meet you.” Winta ducks her head shyly, looking down at the baby. “And who’s this?” Leia asks.

“My brother,” Winta smiles, shifting so Leia can better see him. “He hasn’t told us his name yet,” she says, and the baby coos in accordance, “but Mommy says it will happen any day now.”

Leia’s brow arches, but she doesn’t comment. Instead, she asks, “where are you and your family from, Winta?”

“Well,” Winta says, her face taking on an almost absurdly serious expression, “lots of places.” She raises her hand and begins counting on her fingers. “Mommy says I was born on Alderaan, but then we had to leave, so we—”

Boba pinpoints the exact moment when Leia stops listening. Realization dawns on her face: her jaw goes slack. The color drains from her cheeks. He watches the rise and fall of her chest become uneven. He stares intently, willing her to remember to breathe.

Winta stops talking, looking up at Leia with a frown. “Did I say something wrong?”

Leia’s expression is one of infinite sadness. But there’s something on the edges there, too, something that makes her mouth form a small, brave smile. “No,” she says tightly. After a moment: “I’m from Alderaan, too.”

Winta visibly brightens. “Really? Mommy says it’s pretty.”

Leia looks very, very close to breaking. “And your father?” she manages.

Winta’s eyes stray to Boba, and even though his face is hidden by the helmet he thinks the child holds his gaze for a short moment before speaking. “Mando has armor like you,” she says, and it’s Boba’s turn to forget himself for a moment. She wrinkles her nose. “His isn’t green, though. His is shiny.” Then, eyes brightening, she says, “he says it’s made of special metal. _Beskar_ ,” she says, drawing the word out as if it’s a secret she’s just been told. Boba finds himself stepping closer, despite himself. “Yours isn’t as shiny,” she tells him with an air of disapproval.

“This isn’t _beskar_ ,” Boba returns evenly.

Leia shoots him a warning look. “How did you become separated from your parents?”

Winta casts her eyes down. The baby giggles, reaching up for her dark hair. “Mommy told me we were going to leave soon, and I just wanted to see what it was like.”

Leia tilts her head. “Do you like it here?”

Winta shakes her head. “It’s loud. And there are so many people. And it smells.” The corner of Boba’s mouth twitches up into a small smile at that. Then the girl’s expression turns curious. “Is this what Alderaan looks like?”

Leia shakes her head. Her smile is a sad smile. “No,” she answers quietly. “There were places like this, but…” she trails off, either unwilling or unable to continue. She lifts a shoulder, and Winta scoots closer.

“Mommy misses Alderaan, too,” Winta says, lowering her voice. “Mommy doesn’t like to talk about it, though.”

Leia briefly shuts her eyes. “I understand.” Then: “what is your mother’s name?”

“Omera,” Winta says proudly. The baby babbles in her lap.

Leia considers this new information. “I would like to meet your mother, if that’s all right,” she says, and Winta nods eagerly. Leia turns her head to give Boba a knowing look. “And I’m sure Boba would love to meet Mando.”

Winta turns her gaze on him. “You name is _Boba_?” she asks, skeptical.

Boba blinks. “Yes.”

“Not Mando?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“ _Why_?” Boba echoes, but then he hears it: a woman’s voice, faint but audible, calling Winta’s name. Boba turns and scans the crowd: it only takes a moment to locate the woman hurrying towards them. She is dressed in rough-spun blue like the girl, her long dark hair falling down her back like a stream. Behind her, a Mandalorian follows closely. _Shiny_ , Winta said, and Boba considers the stranger’s armor. It’s been a long time since he’s seen so much _beskar_ on one man.

Boba glances over his shoulder. He watches as Winta gets to her feet and darts forward with the baby clutched to her chest. She barrels into her mother’s waiting arms.

Leia comes up beside him, folding her arms across her chest.

Her message is clear: he nods his understanding.

Boba has grudgingly agreed not to shoot anyone today.


End file.
